Statement of Style 2007

Showhouse rooms dazzle in vivid colors

style statement 2007 1

Tria Giovan

Bright colors create design with impact, and this year’s showhouse rooms dazzle in vivid shades. Candy colors are delectable in rooms for fashionable ladies. Seldom-combined hues surprise with fresh energy. Even stand-alone colors add a fresh wow when used in mass. Let these saturated spaces stimulate you to pick a color—any color—and take your next project from safe to sassy.

An accomplished woman with a dynamic sense of style. That’s the woman interior designer Kendall Wilkinson had in mind when she put together a chic master bedroom with a charged palette of bright teal and tangerine. With its panoramic views, the room begged for a new take on the colors of both the San Francisco Bay and that majestic architectural icon—the Golden Gate Bridge.

"I imagined her recharging in this room," says Kendall. "I wanted it to be a place where she could enjoy her morning tea and sprawl across the bed, researching her next getaway."

Only a confident person would select a vibrant teal for the paneled walls. Kendall also cranked up the volume with the sheen of the paint, enveloping the room in sleek luster. The light-bouncing finish paved the way for other shiny elements. In a corner, traditional tufted chairs go glam covered in decadent teal patent leather and arranged around a Lucite table, a variation on a theme that was begun years ago by the dean of American design, Albert Hadley.

Tangerine, although used on fewer elements throughout the room, doesn’t take a backseat to the bright teal. Tangerine-and-cream chinoiserie toile draperies are spiked with valances in the shape of pagodas and echoed by vases of orange roses placed on the white bedside tables.

"The vibrancy of tangerine and varying shades of teal refreshes the senses during daylight," says Kendall. "Come nighttime, the room becomes a deep blue cocoon."

An unexpected Lucite headboard fades into a striking and graceful mural of a white tree with sparrows by decorative painter Shirley Robinson. The bed, topped with pristine white linens, is accented with a black-and-white geometric motif on throw pillows and a band at the edge of the bed skirt’s pleats. A pair of benches in a chocolate brown-and-cream zebra print provide more graphic interest.

Second-generation interior designer Kendall Wilkinson (her mom is San Francisco designer Alice Wiley) has been stamping homes with elegance and sophistication for 16 years. Owner of the San Francisco design shop Threshold, Kendall says her passion is ignited by her clients, whose needs, tastes, and style she interprets through antiques and luxurious fabrics. "The environment we build together will be their sanctuary, so a critical part of my job is to thoroughly understand their lifestyle goals," she says.

Think pink. And purple. And glamorous. Mix them together, and you’ve got the palette for a woman’s bedroom suite created by designer Jamie Drake. Perfect for the fashionista who revels in luxurious textiles, the lively colored room was wrapped in fabrics designed by Jamie for his new collection for Schumacher.

"Fashionable ladies need to sleep, too," says Jamie. "I wanted to tuck them into bed with style. Gilt antiques, contemporary furniture, bright colors, and high-gloss surfaces are the motifs that give this boudoir the sheen of luxury."

In the same way that an elegant shawl might accompany a festive ball gown, a lavish silk moiré applied to the walls wraps the room in a vibrant shade of fuchsia. To contrast the watery look of the moiré, a structured square pattern in cut-silk velvet embellishes the bed frame.

The facing wall offers a different look, emphasizing texture instead of pattern. Perhaps influenced by a pair of slick patent leather shoes, the fireplace wall is studded with high-gloss lavender panels topped with a gilded mirror that reflects the bed ensemble. Facing each other in front of a barely-there fireplace are twin groupings of brass floor lamp, glass-topped table, and armchair in tweed reminiscent of a Chanel jacket.

A Russian writing table is set directly in front of the windows, where striped silk drapery panels frame a lovely view of the outdoors. To temper the solemnity of the table, a Lucite chair has a shocking pink seat.

Jamie Drake spared no style in the dressing room. A smaller version of the bedroom, the dressing area’s storage space is outfitted with the same glossy lavender panels that give an architectural lift to the fireplace wall. Polka dots on a bench—and the fuchsia silk moiré backing the glass shelves that display the season’s latest footwear—give the space an air of insouciance.

For more than 30 years, New York’s Jamie Drake has been infusing a "wow" factor into interiors with his fearless use of bold color. His high-profile clientele includes such names as Madonna and longtime client New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, for whom he oversaw the recent renovation of the mayoral residence, Gracie Mansion.

Green has great currency this season, be it the focus on eco-friendly living or on spending as much time outdoors as possible. For this sunroom with soaring ceilings, interior designer Lawrence Boeder used crisp lime green both as a color to give the room life and as a neutral to blend naturally with the outside surroundings.

Although spare, the overall design concept makes a strong impression with a well-edited selection of furniture and accessories and a basic two-color scheme. Draperies in a large-scale lime-and-white giraffe print are the stars of the room, garnering instant attention. Instead of covering only the frame of the arched windows, Larry hung the graphic fabric from an iron rod that follows the shape of the room at the point where the walls meet the whitewashed vaulted ceiling. The panels drip all the way to the stone floor. Matching chairs accented with leopard-print pillows rest symmetrically on either side of a round table skirted in a green-and-white silk plaid. Like the chairs, the ottoman is upholstered in green and piped with white.

"This is an indoor/outdoor room with beautiful views, so I didn’t want to overwhelm it with color," says Larry. "Green and white keep the space fresh and stylish without competing with the view of the water, gardens, and trees. The room is striking, but with a serene ambience."

A second seating area by the fireplace includes facing sofas in the same colors—but here transposed to white with green piping. The quilted sofas share white stone tables that resemble the capitals of old columns. The arrangement is grounded by a lime shag rug. Sunflower andirons reference the nearby gardens. Pillows made of the plaid silk that covers the round table in the room’s other seating area help draw the entire space together.

Lawrence Boeder started his Chicago design firm in 1975. Ever since, this Midwestern art and architecture aficionado has been creating beautiful interiors that speak to the best of traditional style but with up-to-date verve. Lawrence is especially connected to classical European design, from which he draws many ideas. Paintings also trigger his creations. His sophisticated knowledge of art allows him to take inspiration from works ranging from old European masters to modern art from Central and South America.